Maha Al-Azar and Sabine Darrous
Daily Star staff

Incoming Metn MP Gabriel Murr made a victorious visit to Parliament Wednesday, joining other politicians in their bid to end the Metn by-election controversy that saw the triumph of the opposition candidate.
In his first official speech from Nijmeh Square, Gabriel Murr moved to placate the opponents of his campaign for the Orthodox parliamentary seat.
Gabriel Murr thanked the authorities, represented by the country’s three senior leaders, for safeguarding democracy.
He also called for establishment of a consensus in the Metn area “as of today” and an end to the tensions that have surfaced over recent weeks, including security incidents on the Jal al-Dib highway on Tuesday evening between his supporters and those of his brother, Metn MP Michel Murr.
Earlier in the day, Gabriel Murr also moved to head off expected criticism from Michel Murr, who had predicted a landslide victory for his daughter Myrna in the Sunday vote.
Michel Murr was expected to hold a Thursday news conference to accuse the government of violating the law and providing a political compromise to end the crisis over the controversial vote tallies.
But the news conference, scheduled to take place from his Al-Amara offices in Zalka, was indefinitely postponed.
In a statement Wednesday, the former interior minister criticized “official performance” in the handling of the election results that ultimately gave his brother Gabriel the seat.
An official announcement of the results by the Interior Minister, headed by Elias Murr, has yet to be made. The results, marred and delayed by voting irregularities, had initially favored his daughter Myrna.
Michel Murr said he did not doubt the integrity of judges and members of the Higher Vote Tabulation Committee, responsible for verifying election results. He also denied that they were subject to political pressure.
For his part, Gabriel Murr dismissed accusations by his brother, with whom he has long been at odds, that political meddling had led to the opposition’s victory. Instead, he argued that he was the first to be announced the winner by the head of the Higher Vote Tabulation Committee early Monday.
“What happened afterward was political meddling,” he said after meeting with Beirut Orthodox Bishop Elias Aoude, adding that Michel Murr, Metn MP Emile Lahoud Jr. and Sports and Youth Minister Sebouh Hovnanian stayed at the Jdeideh Serail after the election results were announced to sort out a political maneuver.
Gabriel Murr said he wanted the controversy to end for the benefit of the country and its democracy, and that he hoped his brother “would not drag the country into more tension.”
During his visit to Parliament, Gabriel Murr met with Speaker Nabih Berri and received a warm welcome from some MPs, including Metn MP Ghassan Ashqar, a Syrian Social Nationalist Party official and backer of Myrna Murr.
Berri told Gabriel Murr and MPs visiting Nijmeh Square that the results were not a victory “of one party over another, but a victory for the state of institutions.” He also hinted at the role Damascus played in finding a solution to the Metn by-election controversy.
“We all know, in particular Mr. Gabriel Murr, that not only did Syria avoid taking a position in the Metn electoral battle, but it also was perhaps the most committed party to ending the election in such a way as to respect the law and safeguard Lebanese unity as well as the country’s security and stability, whoever the winner is.”
The speaker, who had earlier met with President Emile Lahoud in Baabda Palace, added “June 3 is now behind us,” and said “domestic sensitivities” should be kept at a distance from strategic relations between Lebanon and Syria.
Meanwhile, Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt congratulated Metn MP Nassib Lahoud for what he called “the victory of the moderate movement,” which he described as a “slap to the extreme line.” Jumblatt visited Nassib Lahoud at his residence in Achrafieh to highlight his good relations with the MP, a main backer of Gabriel Murr.
Jumblatt’s visit came after the Druze leader criticized a
gathering of opposition leaders at Sodeco on Monday for excluding him and accused it of sectarianism. He also distinguished between the Qornet Shehwan Gathering and Nassib Lahoud, whom he said represented moderation. Jumblatt evaded questions on whether the results involved “political meddling,” praising the role of the president and the implementation of laws in evading a political crisis. Often a fierce critic of the president and security bodies, Jumblatt has tempered the tone of his opposition to Emile Lahoud in recent days.
For his part, Nassib Lahoud told reporters that the opposition should learn a lesson from this victory and try to create the largest political grouping possible. The MP said he had talked to the president over the phone and disclosed that he would meet with him soon.
Nassib Lahoud joined Gab-riel Murr and Metn MP Pierre Gemayel at former President Amin Gemayel’s Sin al-Fil residence for a news conference to discuss the by-election results, the performance of Interior Minister Elias Murr and the opposition’s future strategy. “We consider that the Metn by-election results were announced (early) Monday morning, when the president of the Higher Vote Tabulation Committee informed candidates and their representatives of Gabriel Murr’s victory,” said Nassib Lahoud.
Asked if the opposition would continue to demand Elias Murr’s resignation, Nassib Lahoud said: “The most important thing … is that we will in no way accept the law being abused.” He begrudged MPs for not standing by the dozen or so colleagues who criticized Elias Murr’s declaration that using the voting curtain stations was optional.
Lahoud added that the interior minister should himself submit his resignation.
“If this campaign proved anything, it is that a coalition between all opposition groups is enough to change the status quo,” he said, adding that “the electoral campaign, has ended but the political one continues.”
Former Communist Party leader George Hawi welcomed the “victory for democracy and for Metn residents.” Hawi said he was pleased with Gabriel Murr’s victory, even though he did not share the ideology of many of his supporters, in what appeared a reference to followers of the Lebanese Forces and former army commander General Michel Aoun. Hawi said he opposed some sectarian and anti-Syrian slogans used by some opposition members, and that the Communist Party “was not in strategic alliance with all of those opposition groups.”

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